8 charged with weapons trafficking, illegal exports of ammo in Arizona

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – An open alcohol container violation on Interstate 10 has helped authorities in Arizona secure a federal indictment against three alleged weapons traffickers.

A grand jury on Wednesday accused Francisco Bell, Ismael Higuera Avalos and Eziquio Chavez of trafficking in firearms for allegedly purchasing high-caliber rifles under false premises at a Tucson gun show and from a pawn shop earlier this month.

It is one of three firearms and ammunition trafficking and illegal export cases brought to federal courts in Arizona this week alone.

Tucson police officers on Aug. 4 stopped a Jeep Gladiator for speeding on Interstate 10 and noticed an open alcohol container in the vehicle’s cupholder. The officers searched the vehicle and found 16 AK-47s, an AR-16 style rifle, three guns and $12,000, court records show.

The traffic stop occurred shortly after Homeland Security Investigations agents and Arizona Department of Public Safety state troopers observed two men later identified as Bell and Higuera enter the Tucson Gun Expo and come out bearing several rifle boxes to the Jeep, according to a federal complaint affidavit filed in U.S District Court for the District of Arizona.

In an interview with HSI agents, Bell allegedly admitted that he did not buy the firearms for himself as he stated on a firearms transaction form. He said Higuera gave him the money to complete the purchase and let agents search his phone, where they allegedly found messages from Chavez telling him which dealers to buy from and how much money to pay for them, court records show.

Chavez allegedly told authorities in an interview that he didn’t know why his friends were buying so many firearms and that he was “on probation and not allowed around guns.” He told investigators his fingerprints “might be” on a gun that Bell handed him to place in the back of the seat, and that he got nervous and tried to hide under the seat $8,000 he happened to have in his pockets, court records show.

A fourth passenger in the Jeep, whom Bell told authorities had “coordinated the whole plan” was not charged.

Bell, Chavez and Higuera are set for arraignment Sept. 20 in Tucson.

Separately, a Mexican resident has been charged with the attempted illegal export of 1,582 rounds of .50-caliber bullets and other assorted firearms supplies during a bust at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona.

Maria Fernanda Meneses Aguilar, 21 and a resident of Nogales, Arizona, was attempting to cross into Sonora, Mexico, on the night of Aug. 22 when a canine officer alerted U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to possible contraband in the Chevrolet Silverado pickup she was driving.

Court records show CBP passed the Silverado through an X-ray portal and detected anomalies in the quarter panel. The ammo, 15 rifle magazines and 2 rifle buttstocks were found.

In an interview with an HSI special agent, Meneses allegedly denied knowledge of the ammunition and said a “friend from the gym” asked her to drive the truck into Mexico.

A search of her cellphone revealed messages from a person she identified as “Alexis” asking where she was and telling her, “They want the (vehicle) already.” Court records show she told the agent her friend and his father might be doing “bad things” in Mexico, because he allegedly bragged about his “mafia” connections. The vehicle was reportedly headed to the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

The third firearms case involves the Wednesday indictment of four men for making false statements, aiding and abetting and weapons trafficking.

Richard Anthony Defour, Rolando Hernandez, Daniel Pina and Mark Anthony Molina are charged in connection with the allegedly fraudulent purchase of 11 AK-47-style rifles from two Arizona dealers and a pawn shop.

The charges filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona allege the men made false statements in obtaining the rifles but do not elaborate on the alleged trafficking scheme.

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